Riot police massed in the centre of Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa on Wednesday as the authorities moved to block a planned protest by the opposition who are calling for a re-run of last week's national elections.
Five of President Felix Tshisekedi's challengers in the race have called on their supporters to join a march against the poll, which they say should be annulled.
They have vowed to proceed even after the government banned the protest on Tuesday, saying the march was intended to undermine the work of the national election commission (CENI) as it compiles results that for now show Tshisekedi with a strong lead.
Police surrounded the headquarters of one of the incumbent's main challengers, Martin Fayulu, where protesters were meant to gather in the morning. Some were in riot gear while others held rifles, a Reuters reporter said.
Incumbent president
The march was scheduled to begin at 0900 GMT but there was no immediate sign of large crowds gathering amid the heavy security presence.
Opposition candidates alleged that delays in voting and equipment malfunctioning had compromised the credibility of the elections. The electoral commission, CENI, dismissed such claims.
Tally from the electoral commision on Tuesday put Tshisekedi well ahead of his 18 challengers, with almost 79% of around 6.1 million votes counted so far.
Around 44 million were registered to vote, although the number of ballots cast remains unknown.
